Who this guide is for (and how Invrecovery fits)

The Investment Recovery Association (Invrecovery) is the only professional association focused on the buying, selling, and management of surplus assets – helping IR teams recover value from idle equipment while supporting corporate sustainability goals.

Members get education, certification (CMIR), best-practice sharing, and access to a network of IR service providers—from appraisers and auctioneers to scrap processors and ITAD specialists – so they can deliver outsized returns and support circular economy strategies.

This guide is written for:

• Investment recovery and surplus asset managers

• Facilities, operations, and maintenance leaders

• ESG, sustainability, and supply chain professionals

• Finance and audit stakeholders who want asset decisions to be both financially sound and sustainability-aligned

It provides general, educational information—not legal, financial, or regulatory advice. Organizations should work with internal legal, EHS, and compliance teams when designing policies or interpreting regulations.

---

1. What is “Circular Economy Asset Management”?

Circular economy, in plain language

The circular economy is an economic system where products and materials are kept in use as long as possible—through maintenance, reuse, refurbishment, remanufacturing, and recycling—while nature is regenerated and waste is minimized.

Instead of the familiar “take–make–dispose” model, circularity aims to:

1. Eliminate waste and pollution by design
2. Circulate products and materials at their highest possible value
3. Regenerate natural systems, not deplete them

Asset management in 2025

According to ISO 55000, asset management is the coordinated activity of an organization to realize value from assets over their full life cycle.

In practice, that means:

• Knowing what you own (location, condition, criticality, residual value)

• Managing how it’s acquired, used, maintained, upgraded, and retired

• Aligning these decisions with organizational objectives: cost, risk, performance, and now ESG / circularity

Where investment recovery fits

Invrecovery has already highlighted that investment recovery is a critical component of the circular economy: IR teams extend asset life, keep materials in circulation, and reduce disposal through surplus sales, redeployment, refurbishment, and responsible recycling.

Circular Economy Asset Management is simply the next step:

managing assets from plan-to-retire so that circular options—redeploy, recondition, return, resell, reclaim, recycle—are systematically built into every decision.

---

2. Why circular asset management matters right now (2025 context)

Several 2024–2025 trends are pushing organizations to rethink asset strategies:

1. ESG & reporting expectations
   Global ESG baselines (such as IFRS sustainability standards) and regional rules (e.g., EU circular economy and reporting initiatives) are increasing expectations for better lifecycle and circularity data.
2. Resource and cost pressure
   Financial and sustainability analysts continue to highlight that circular models—extending product life, recovering materials, and reducing waste—can help manage resource price volatility and reduce long-term costs.
3. Technology shifts
   New asset management frameworks and tools (ISO 55000/55001, digital twins, condition monitoring, predictive maintenance) make it easier to track lifetime, health, and circular options for industrial assets.
4. Stakeholder expectations
   Invrecovery’s own membership materials emphasize that investment recovery has evolved from “selling surplus” into a core component of sustainability, regulatory compliance, circular economy methodologies, and zero-waste ambitions.
5. Value at stake
   Independent benchmarking cited by the Association indicates that mature investment recovery programs can return more than $20 of recovered value for every $1 invested in the function—showing that good asset decisions can be both circular and profitable when managed professionally.

---

3. Eight design principles for Circular Economy Asset Management

Before implementation, it helps to align on design principles that IR and asset teams can use across plants, business units, and regions.

1) Prioritize lifetime extension over replacement

Extending the useful life of assets—through better maintenance, repairs, and upgrades—often delivers both cost savings and lower environmental impact. Recent work on circular asset management shows how lifetime extension, backed by condition monitoring and digital twins, can significantly improve the performance and sustainability of infrastructure and industrial assets.

2) Treat data as the backbone of circularity

Circular decisions require data-rich assets:

• Unique IDs and serial numbers

• Location, duty, and utilization

• Maintenance and failure history

• Energy consumption and efficiency

• Decommissioning and resale outcomes

Without trustworthy data, redeployment and resale decisions become guesswork.

3) Follow a clear disposition hierarchy

Invrecovery often summarizes the IR toolkit as Redeploy • Recondition • Return • Resell • Reclaim • Recycle.

A circular asset program embeds this hierarchy into policy:

1. Avoid unnecessary purchases
2. Redeploy surplus internally
3. Recondition / refurbish where economical
4. Resell or donate to qualified buyers and communities
5. Reclaim materials (metals, components)
6. Recycle & dispose responsibly as a last resort

4) Align with recognized asset management frameworks

Industry bodies like the Institute of Asset Management and the ISO 55000 series provide structure for bridging strategy, risk, and day-to-day maintenance. They emphasize:

• Line of sight from organizational objectives → asset strategies → asset plans → work execution

• Continuous improvement via Plan–Do–Check–Act cycles

Circular asset management should complement—not replace—these existing frameworks.

5) Build an ecosystem, not a silo

Circular models rely on ecosystems: brokers, auctioneers, remanufacturers, recyclers, ITAD providers, and logistics partners. Invrecovery’s associate members list exactly this mix of specialized services for surplus assets.

A mature program:

• Maintains a vetted vendor directory

• Uses multi-channel remarketing

• Ensures partners meet compliance and certification expectations (e.g., for ITAD, recycling, data destruction)

6) Bake in compliance and risk management

From e-waste regulations and Basel Convention rules (for cross-border movement of waste) to data-protection requirements like GDPR and sector-specific laws, asset decisions have real compliance implications—especially for IT and hazardous materials.

Circular asset management should therefore:

• Reference internal legal and compliance guidance

• Use certified partners where appropriate

• Maintain auditable chain-of-custody documentation for high-risk assets

7) Use digital platforms and marketplaces

Surplus marketplaces and digital platforms are widely recognized as a way to match surplus assets to internal users or external buyers, reducing storage costs and avoiding waste.

IR teams can:

• Stand up an internal redeployment portal for cross-site reuse

• Use external marketplaces, auctions, and dealer networks for specialized assets

• Integrate these channels with EAM/ERP systems for better data and reporting

8) Measure outcomes, not intentions

Modern circular economy guidance stresses the importance of measuring material flows, re-use, and waste using structured indicators.

For IR and asset teams, that translates into practical metrics like:

• Value recovered vs. disposal cost

• % of surplus assets redeployed, resold, recycled

• Days from “surplus identified” to “final disposition”

• Tonnes diverted from landfill (where data is available)

• Number of assets with documented “next use” plans

---

4. A 7-step implementation framework for Circular Economy Asset Management

The rest of this guide offers a pragmatic roadmap. Think of it as a template you can adapt to your organization’s size, sector, and risk profile.

Step 1: Clarify vision, scope, and sponsorship

Start with a concise vision statement, for example:

“By 2027, we will manage all major assets using circular economy principles, maximizing value recovery and minimizing waste while meeting compliance and ESG expectations.”

Key tasks:

• Define scope: which asset classes (production equipment, MRO, IT, vehicles, real estate fixtures, etc.) and which regions are in-scope initially.

• Map stakeholders: IR, operations, maintenance, finance, procurement, sustainability, IT, EHS, legal.

• Secure an executive sponsor (often from operations, supply chain, or finance) who can unblock policy and budget constraints.

Step 2: Build a reliable asset and surplus baseline

You cannot manage what you can’t see. Use your existing EAM/CMMS, fixed asset register, ERP, and IR records to build a baseline:

• List assets with: location, owner, age, condition, criticality, replacement cost, book value.

• Identify current disposition channels: scrapping, auction, broker sale, “ad hoc” donations, abandonment.

• Highlight “problem” categories: long-stored idle equipment, obsolete inventory, frequent project leftovers, etc.

Where possible, tag assets so you can later track which ones move through redeployment, resale, or recycling.

Step 3: Define your circular lifecycle model

Map the full lifecycle for key asset classes:

1. Plan & design
2. Procure / build
3. Operate & maintain
4. Upgrade & repurpose
5. Decommission & dispose

For each stage, identify circular options:

• Plan & design: choose modular, repairable equipment where practical; consider OEM take-back or leasing models that support circularity.

• Procure: require suppliers to disclose repair, remanufacture, and take-back options; ask about embodied-carbon or circularity metrics where relevant.

• Operate & maintain: use preventive and predictive maintenance to extend life; monitor efficiency and failure modes.

• Upgrade & repurpose: before buying new, ask whether existing assets can be upgraded or reassigned; design internal processes for redeployment.

• Decommission & disposition: apply the Redeploy–Recondition–Return–Resell–Reclaim–Recycle hierarchy via a formal asset disposition process.

Step 4: Design practical processes for redeployment and surplus disposition

Build a standard decision tree that every site can use when an asset becomes surplus:

Is the asset still safe and functional?

If no → go directly to scrap/recycling with appropriate EHS controls.

Is there internal demand?

If yes → list on internal redeployment portal (with photos, specs, condition reports).

Is refurbishment or upgrade economical?

Compare cost of repair vs. replacement and potential resale/redeployment value.

Are there qualified external buyers or donation channels?

Use brokers, auctions, dealers, or community donation programs where appropriate.

What are the regulatory and data-security requirements?

For IT and data-bearing or hazardous equipment, follow strong ITAD and EHS procedures.

This process should integrate with existing purchasing, capital approval, and maintenance workflows so it becomes “the way we do things,” not a side project.

Step 5: Build and vet your partner ecosystem

Invrecovery’s ecosystem model is a good reference: associate members include appraisers, auctioneers, demolition and environmental contractors, scrap dealers, and ITAD specialists.

For circular asset management, consider:

• Valuation & appraisal partners for complex industrial equipment

• Auctioneers and brokers for specialized markets

• OEMs and remanufacturers offering repair/refurb programs

• Certified recyclers & ITAD providers, with relevant certifications (e.g., R2v3, e-Stewards, NAID AAA in the IT context)

Build a simple partner scoring model:

• Certifications and audit history

• Transparency of downstream handling

• Track record and references in similar industries

• Ability to provide circularity and ESG metrics (e.g., tonnage diverted, reuse rates)

Step 6: Establish governance, policy, and internal controls

A 2025-ready circular asset program should be anchored in documented policies rather than informal habits.

Key elements:

• Asset disposition policy – sets thresholds, approval levels, and the required process steps for surplus assets.

• Role clarity – who can declare assets surplus, who approves redeployment or sale, who manages contracts with third parties.

• Documentation requirements – minimum data needed before sale or disposal (photos, condition reports, serials, data sanitization certificates, etc.).

• Compliance hooks – references to internal guidance on environmental, safety, and data-protection obligations.

Invrecovery’s ITAD guide offers a strong example of how to structure step-by-step processes, documentation, and vendor requirements in a high-risk asset domain; similar thinking can be adapted for other asset classes. Invrecovery+1

Step 7: Measure, report, and continuously improve

Finally, connect your program to metrics that matter to both operations and ESG:

Example KPI families:

• Financial

  • Value recovered from surplus (by channel)

  • Avoided capex via redeployment

  • Net cost of disposal vs. value realized

• Circularity

  • % of surplus assets redeployed, resold, recycled

  • Average lifetime extension for key categories (where data exists)

  • Number of assets with defined “next life” at decommission

• Compliance & risk

  • % of high-risk assets with complete chain-of-custody records

  • Number of audit findings related to asset disposition

International guidance on measuring circular economy performance emphasizes combining physical material flow indicators with economic measures—so IR teams are well-positioned to supply the “on-the-ground” asset data that ESG and finance teams increasingly need.

5. How Invrecovery can support your circular asset journey

Invrecovery exists specifically to help IR professionals navigate these transitions together:

• Education & best practices: Online learning, webinars, and the IR Learning Center cover surplus asset management, sustainability, and emerging topics like AI and ITAD.

• Certification (CMIR): Formal recognition of professional competency in investment recovery and asset disposition.

• Community & events: The annual Investment Recovery Conference & Trade Show and member roundtables create space to share circular economy case studies, vendor experiences, and practical tools.

• Service directories: Associate member directories help organizations find vetted partners for auctions, appraisals, demolition, scrap, ITAD, and more—key building blocks for any circular asset program.

For organizations aiming to make Circular Economy Asset Management a reality in 2025 and beyond, the combination of structured internal processes and the Invrecovery community offers a powerful path: better returns, lower risk, and a more resilient, circular way of managing the assets entrusted to you.